Frederic Patenaude Raw Foods Diet

Have you missed the first two parts of this series? You can read part 1 here and part 2 here.

One of the key concepts of natural hygiene, almost universally embraced by all of its pundits, is the fruit-based diet. Some hygienists have taken this idea to its seemingly logical conclusion by promoting fruitarianism — a diet of ONLY fruits, or something very close to it. While I agree with the former group, this article is about the mistake of the latter.

Fruitarianism: a Short History

Early hygienists like Silvester Graham and Dr. Kellogg mainly focused on the restorative properties of a healthy diet and an overall “clean lifestyle.” Other hygienists, such as Edward Hooker Dewey (who innovated with his no-breakfast plan) and Dr. Isaak Jennings (who can be credited for inventing modern fasting), mainly focused on fasting. Some of these hygienists were pure vegetarians while others were not. Most of them did not recommend a fruit based diet, probably because such a diet was not really possible at that time due to the infrequent supply of fresh fruit year round to the United States in the last century.

Dr. Shelton was the man who did the synthesis of all these hygienic theories and came up with the term “Natural Hygiene.”

Shelton not only promoted fasting and natural living, like his predecessors, but took the diet further by eliminating grains and replacing them with fruit. The famous “ideal” Shelton diet consisted of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds — a common sequence of ingredients that has been used ever since by raw vegans to describe their diets. Although Shelton made some concessions and even used fermented dairy products at times, he was adamant that all grain products (like bread or rice) should be avoided and fruit should be the basis of the diet instead.

Shelton did not come up with that idea on his own. The concept of fruitarianism probably came from Dr. Emmet Densmore, an English doctor who published in 1890 a book called “The Natural Food of Man.”

Densmore drew on the knowledge of previous, now forgotten doctors — proving that fruitarianism has a concept has a long history.

Densmore was a sick man, and could not find relief to his lingering lumbago problems in a pure vegetarian diet. So he adopted a diet of fruits, nuts, milk, eggs, and cheese.

The book mostly contains rather anecdotal evidence on the harm of grain products, as evidenced by some of the quotes I pulled out below from the book.

“If cereals are so difficult to digest that they must not be used in illness, it will surely be a good idea to see how a non-starch diet will work after recovery.

It is quite true that many individuals reach middle life habitually using bread and cereals, and in apparent good health; but the race must be run before anything is proven. In my childhood I knew a neighbouring farmer who used to make daily trips, in the severely cold winters of northern Pennsylvania, to a village a half-dozen miles away, without any coat and without other clothing than the shirt he wore in summer time.

The team which he drove hauled heavy loads of wood, and this necessitated a slow pace, and the teamster followed at a slow walk. He laughed at the foolishness of his neighbours who coddled themselves in coats; and, strangely enough, he got on for years in seeming good health. Ultimately he lost his health, and died in middle life; but, while in seeming vigour, his case was no proof that his habit was not injurious; it was proof only that the powers of his system were able for a time to overcome, and not at once die from exposure.

All farmers and horsemen are aware that, while their horses are kept the year round in a stable, and fed largely on dried grains and dried grass, they are very liable to be constipated; but it is also quite universally known that as the same horses are turned out to grass, in fact as soon as they are put upon their natural food, the constipation vanishes.”

—

Ultimately, Densmore was famous for publishing the following table, which has been used, often without credits, by many natural hygienists since.

Comparative Anatomy. The Anatomical Differences Between Flesh-Eating And Fruit-Eating Animals

* In this formula the figures in the centre represent the number of incisors; upon each side are the canines, followed to the right and left by the molars.

“Man is neither carnivorous nor herbivorous. He has neither the teeth of the cud-chewers, nor their four stomachs, nor their intestines. If we consider these organs in man, we must conclude him to be by nature and origin, frugi-vorous, as is the ape.”

Fruitarianism Spread

In one of his books, Shelton reproduced the table by Dr. Densmore and presented his case for a fruit-based diet, using somewhat more scientific arguments. Mainly, he argued that man is not designed by nature to live on a grain-based diet, as evidenced by his anatomy and physiology.

Grains are generally acid-forming, and their consumption only as old as agriculture itself. Before that, man lived on a fruitarian diet, in a sort of “Garden of Eden.”

Although Shelton admitted that it was possible to live on fruit and nuts alone, provided you could find foods of good quality, he never promoted a pure fruitarian diet as a diet plan for life.

Instead, Shelton insistent on the importance of eating a large salad every day.

The concept of a fruit-based diet, however, became increasingly popular over the years. Most of the Natural Hygiene movement embraced it.

After a few decades, some students of Shelton wanted to improve on Shelton’s diet, complaining that his diet was too difficult to follow.

My early mentor, Albert Mosséri, discovered that most people could not digest the 4-5 ounces of nuts that Shelton recommended to eat every day. So he dropped the nuts out of the diet, became less strict about a pure raw food diet, and instead recommended a diet of fruits and vegetables (raw or cooked). This nut-free version of Shelton’s fruit-based diet gave better results and was surprisingly easier to follow.

T.C. Fry’s Fruitarian Diet

The person who took over as the voice of Natural Hygiene after Shelton’s forced retirement through Parkinson’s disease (and eventual death) was T.C. Fry.

Fry not only wanted to eliminate nuts out of the diet, but also all greens! He started out with Shelton’s diet, but eventually refined it to the point where he eventually believed and promoted a pure fruitarian diet.

In Fry’s pure fruitarian diet, he also included some vegetables that are technically fruit, botanically speaking (like tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers).

T.C. Fry’s arguments in favor of a fruitarian diet can be summarized as follows:

* Humans are physiologically fruitarians. Every animal has a natural food and our natural food is fruit.
* The idea that “more is better” is a fundamental flaw of modern nutrition. It’s not necessary to eat a “large salad everyday” to meet our nutritional needs.
* Fruits contain more vitamins and minerals than we could possibly need. We don’t need vegetables.
* Vegetables, especially some greens, contain some toxic substances that can be identified by their bitter taste.

Even though Fry’s arguments were flimsy, and that his diet was so unsustainable that he could not even follow it himself (as evidenced by many reports that came out after his death) he nonetheless convinced a lot of people to go fruitarian.

The fruitarian diet was mostly a failure, because most people simply could not stick to it. But a few determined people managed to summon enough willpower to do it, and many of those individuals ended up with serious health problems. T.C. Fry himself diet at the age of 69 after a series of mysterious illnesses. His diet also was severely deficient in vitamin B12 and he did not supplement.

The Main Fruitarian Argument Demolished by Modern Anthropology

It’s not possible to promote a pure fruitarian diet based on nutritional facts alone. We know enough about nutrition today to ascertain that fruits generally don’t contain enough minerals to sustain a healthy life in most people.

That’s why all modern fruitarians recommend eating large quantities of greens everyday to compensate for what’s missing in fruit.

But there’s one argument that still captures the imagination of wannabe fruitarians: the concept of humans as fruitarian creatures, who once lived on a diet of fruit.

When we look at modern Apes like the Chimpanzee, we find that the more genetically related the ape is to humans, the more fruit it eats. For example, gorillas, which are not that close to humans, eat mostly vegetables, while chimps prefer fruit.

Chimpanzees (and especially bonobos) live in the wild on a fruit based diet, although they also include other food items such as ants, vegetation, and sometimes meat.

However, fruit is by far their favorite food and they would probably eat it exclusively if they could get their hands on a plentiful, quality year-long supply.

Because we share a lot of genes with Chimpanzees (we’re told it’s close to 96%), it’s easy to think of humans as “more evolved chimps.”

The temptation is to think that we could go back in time, millions of years ago, to find a band of humans living in their original diet of perfect fruit, and think that we’ve somehow lost our way since then by adopting a modern diet.

Most people think of evolution as a ladder, which in their minds looks like this:

Chimpanzee ===> Neanderthal Men ===> Humans

In reality, evolution is more like a tree with branches going out in all directions!

We did NOT evolve from Chimpanzee. Rather, humans AND chimpanzee both share a common ancestor. According to modern findings, that was about 6 million years ago.

Evolution looks more like this:

Pre-human ancestors ====> Modern Apes
                                                 ====> Extinct Humanoid Races
                                                 ====> Modern Humans

That is a rather rough way of explaining it, but the bottom line is we have been humans properly for only 200,000 years.

Before that, there were many different types of human ancestors, some which would look similar to us. We evolved from some of them, and the rest died off.

Modern apes are fairly ancient creatures that have NOT significantly evolved for millions of years.

*But here’s the kicker: as long as humans have been “humans,” we’ve never actually lived on a fruitarian diet, or anything close to it.

Work by anthropologist Nathaniel Dominy shows that humans have mostly evolved as humans consuming fairly large quantities of starchy foods, such as large tubers that are no longer cultivated today in most parts of the world.

We’ve actually adapted to this diet, so that our ability to digest starch is MUCH better than that of a chimpanzee.

However, we still come from a line of creatures that were definitely fruitarians, such as the same ancestors we share with modern apes, as well as many creatures that came after.

In other words:

• You could not go back in time and find a tribe of ancient humans living on a pure fruitarian diets. Instead, you’d have to go back so far that the creatures you’d encounter could no longer be qualified as “homo sapiens.”
• The concept of man as a fruitarian creature that once lived in the Garden of Eden is just a myth.

Our Fruitarian Framework

There’s no doubt that our digestive tract is very similar to that of other fruitarian creatures, like the chimpanzee. But it is not exactly the same. For example:

* Humans produce several times the amount of amylase, a starch-digesting enzyme produced in the saliva.
* Chimpanzees can consume fruits that would be impossible for humans to digest. These fruits are way too astringent or sour for most people to eat. If humans tried to live on the wild chimpanzee diet, they would suffer from a permanent case of indigestion.

Yet, there’s no denying that we evolved from fruitarian creatures. That’s at least one argument in favor of eating more fruit, but not in favor of a pure fruitarian diet.

As I explained in my last article, there are many reasons to eat more fruit. However, no convincing argument can justify a pure fruitarian diet for everyone.

29 Responses to “The Mistakes of Natural Hygiene: Part 3: Fruitarianism”

1. The Mistakes of Natural Hygiene: Part 3: Fruitarianism | Frederic … | Health Body Image says:

   June 8, 2012 at 3:14 pm

   [...] here to read the rest: The Mistakes of Natural Hygiene: Part 3: Fruitarianism | Frederic … ← Top 5 Fitness Trends – About Food, Fitness and Life's Random [...]
2. mary kay says:

   June 11, 2012 at 10:51 am

   I enjoy reading stuff like this. Thanks.

   Your article appears to be unbiased but I’d like to know what some modern-day well-educated paleos have to say about it.

   Thanks again.
3. sam says:

   June 11, 2012 at 11:12 am

   Hey Fred, when you say there is evidence to show “humans have mostly evolved as humans consuming fairly large quantities of starchy foods, such as large tubers ”
   Is that cooked tubers?
   What tubers in particular?
   Did we discover fire at an early stage of our evolution as modern humans?
   Do you think we may have evolved eating a mixture of mainly fruit and starches?
   Over what approximate time-scales?
   Thank you for the info you have provided so far. Interesting stuff!
4. sam says:

   June 11, 2012 at 11:12 am

   Hey there Fred, when you say there is evidence to show “humans have mostly evolved as humans consuming fairly large quantities of starchy foods, such as large tubers ”
   Is that cooked tubers?
   What tubers in particular?
   Did we discover fire at an early stage of our evolution as modern humans?
   Do you think we may have evolved eating a mixture of mainly fruit and starches?
   Over what approximate time-scales?
   Thank you for the info you have provided so far. Interesting stuff!
5. kevin reid says:

   June 11, 2012 at 11:32 am

   Hi Fredric,

   I enjoyed reading your article mistakes of the Hygene movement part 3.
   I myself have been vegetarian for 35 years now. At any rate, i like the idea of more fruits and vegetables in my diet.

   I agree that mankind began with a vegetarian diet. This was our original diet before the “flood”. However, i would disagree on statements that we evolved from other creatures. I believe that God created human beings in his own image. I believe presuppositions determine how we look at things.
   i look forward to your comments. Have a great day. -Kevin
6. Melissa says:

   June 11, 2012 at 11:34 am

   i disagree with remarks about Adam & Eve in the garden. they are the primary reason why a fruitarian diet – with vegetables, even some nuts can work.

   the reasons why humans today have digestive problems is because of a lack of enzymes in the processed food we are eating & a lack of replacement of vitamins because of GMO foods depleting our systems of natural amts. of enzymes. i really don’t think there is a fruit humans can’t digest with the proper food combining. a fruitarian diet definitely helps your eye health and digestive health amazingly well!! Dietiticans and scientists should quit looking at Darwin as if he’s God!!

   cheers,

   M/
7. Lauira says:

   June 11, 2012 at 11:59 am

   Wonderful! It’s so refreshing to see people who have a real understanding of evolution as a tree with many branches instead of a ladder. Your views have a sensible balance I rarely see elsewhere.
8. kevin reid says:

   June 11, 2012 at 12:11 pm

   Yes i will agree with Melissa comments about Adam and Eve. I believe we were created and we did not evolve. In that light, God is the one who is the Creator of the vegetarian diet:
   “”Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;” This is my view.
   k
9. Christian says:

   June 11, 2012 at 12:31 pm

   Splendid series of articles. Thought-provoking. Thank you!
10. Swayze says:

    June 11, 2012 at 1:14 pm

    The fruit paradise myth is one of my favorites because it’s just so silly!

    One necessary component of speciation, something that has to be there for a new species to evolve, is environmental shift. In our case, it was the gradual shift from an angiosperm environment (fruit-bearing trees, aka the tropics) to a more savannah-like scenario (less trees, less fruit).

    In other words, when humans came to be, they would have been surrounded by LESS fruit, not an abundance of it.

    Swayze
11. Linda says:

    June 11, 2012 at 1:47 pm

    All those in the scientific community I’ve been reading about lately claim that humans evovoled as hunter/gatherers and that this can be determined in great detail actually.
12. Frederic Patenaude says:

    June 11, 2012 at 2:15 pm

    @Linda. The “gatherer” part was likely much more important than previously thought. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0PF5R0ywp4
13. Lorraine says:

    June 11, 2012 at 3:37 pm

    very interesting article. I think we would do well to take God at His Word and follow his laws of health written in the Bible. We will reap the benefits from doing so. Adam and Eve were fruitarians. Vegetables and grains, nuts and seeds were added to their diet after they were expelled from the garden. Flesh foods were allowed after the flood to shorten the sinful life of man.
    This is all recorded in the book of Genesis. Other good reading from the late 1800′s and early 1900′s are found in the writings of Ellen G. White, eg. “Counsels on Diet and Foods”. God is calling His people back to the original diet He gave to them at creation.
14. Paul Palmer says:

    June 11, 2012 at 6:23 pm

    Hi Frederic. Excellent article! I agree. Some few people such as Anne Osborne seem to be able to pull it off (pure fruitarianism). Most do not; which makes me wonder what makes the difference. For myself, I do not intend to try the pure fruitarian diet, but it may serve a temporary therapeutic purpose. Dr. Robert Morse seems to think, based on his clinical observation, that a diet of fruit, berries, and melons are the best for regenerating nerves. I do not think however that he means that to be a permanent diet.
15. Em says:

    June 11, 2012 at 7:24 pm

    Hi Frederic

    I have so enjoyed reading your series of three articles on this topic. All have been very interesting.

    I have also enjoyed reading all the comments for all three posts.

    My understanding of evolution is as you have expressed it here. The tree analogy is most useful. Btw, no theory of evolution need exclude the notion of a creative force/God, as many religious people seem to believe (I am not pointing to any particular comments on this forum when I say this – just talking in general about opinions in general)…

    Anyway, thank you for going into such detail in all these posts! Loved it:)
16. Dwight says:

    June 11, 2012 at 10:52 pm

    I had been on fruit as a fruitarian for 8 months with some vegetables a long time ago and my skin turned greenish from lacking iron. I am more moderate in my eating habits now but eat a lot of fruit(35 to 60% fruit), including coconut, seeds and nuts, avacado, and dried fruits — working. I recently read Eat right for your blood type and that fits me as I am a type O — meat-eater. What do you think of that book?
17. Chris Randall says:

    June 11, 2012 at 11:39 pm

    Awesome article Fred, I really enjoyed it!

    While a 100% fruit diet does seem somewhat tempting at times, for various reasons, I definitely agree that is just won’t work in the long run. It’s not the fruit’s fault, I don’t believe that we were designed to eat just fruit. The term “frugivore” describes humans much more accurately, in my opinion. Young tender veggies definitely have their place. Whether or not we can explain it 100% with nutrition facts and studies, there’s more than enough experience from other peoples successes and failures to show that there’s a trend!

    I am a huge fan of Shelton, Fry, and most of the other hygienist. They’ve offered a wealth of information for me and for that I’m incredibly grateful. But I’m also grateful that we’ve come to where we’ve gotten now. We can take all of the knowledge and experience offered by Shelton and others and through experience find out what works best. Outlining the importance of eating enough quantity and calories from fruit and eating enough tender vegetables to bring it all together.

    I believe this is why some of these hygienist weren’t so 100% with their diets as they would have liked to have been. They just didn’t know how to do it in a sustainable way (whether that was eating sufficient fruit calories or vegetables) and ended up getting too hungry to resist other things. It’s not the diet’s fault. It’s like you can’t blame your car when it quits running after you tried driving 300 miles on 1/8th of a tank of gas! Even if it was the Premium, it just wasn’t enough!

    Chris
18. Lelouch says:

    June 12, 2012 at 12:47 am

    Nice article. Including small amounts of steamed starches is not a bad idea.
19. Rae says:

    June 12, 2012 at 12:52 am

    Quite a while ago you interviewed a woman who was a pure fruitarian. I think she lived in Australia. How do you account for her excellent health? Was she too young to have shown ill effects from eating only fruit?
    Also, you wrote about your dream of opening a restaurant called “The Fruitarian.” Were you planning to serve only fruit there?
20. Frederic Patenaude says:

    June 12, 2012 at 7:51 am

    @Rae. The fruitarian lady is Anne Osbourne. I think there will always be exception to every broad “rule” or recommendation. I would not make broad generalizations based on one exceptional story. It’s possible to live well on fruit — but it’s just more difficult and unlikely for most people. As for the Fruitarian, you should read the article again. That was actually just a day dream and a joke, not a real project.
21. Lori says:

    June 12, 2012 at 7:59 am

    You do a good job reporting diet research. I have always enjoyed your bias
    opinion. Plus, congratulations on your marriage, and I hope you business
    continues to grow.

    I hope you study more about the origin of mankind, and really decide about
    FACTS from THEORY. Just like many diet theories prove to be wrong, many “evolution facts” are just a theory.

    Do not be afraid of Faith in “Intelligent Design”. Just consider the nature
    of the seed and the fruit it produces!

    Think about all your research and the truth it has shown you
    about diet diversity and truth.

    “Dont you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can
    make him ‘unclean’? For it doesnt go into his heart but
    into his stomach, and then out his body.”
    “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’
    For from within, out of man’s hearts, come evil thoughts……”
    Jesus Mark7:18-23

    Loving ALL Truth! Have a great day!
22. Amy Torres says:

    June 12, 2012 at 8:19 am

    Very thoughtful, thought-provoking and informative article, Fred. Thank you! I’m wondering if you’ve ever tried the acai juice product made by Monavie–it combines about 14 fruits and a lot of research and love seems to go into the product. Any comments on Monavie?
23. Frederic Patenaude says:

    June 12, 2012 at 8:22 am

    @Amy I like Acai but I think it’s a little bit overrated, certainly in juice form. I went to Brazil before it became a trend in the West. It was sold everywhere as a sorbet and cost almost nothing to make. Everywhere else it has been turned into an overpriced superfood. Honestly I don’t think it’s worth it to pay that much for a “superfood” when antioxidants are plentiful in other fruits (blueberries, pomegranates, just to name a few).
24. Yuna says:

    June 12, 2012 at 12:38 pm

    I think that to succeed on a fruitarian diet, you have to have fruit that supplies your essential vitamins and minerals. When you contemplate how many tropical fruits there are, and how wierd they look, and how plentiful they are, you can see how humans could’ve lived on a 100% raw fruit diet with all those options. There is even a new superfood- the baobab- which supplies more calcium than a cup of milk and it’s from Africa. Fruit can supply all of our vitamins and minerals and it’s hard to follow right now but it’s a goal to work towards. If we try hard enough, we can find all of the fruit we need from the tropical fruit that can supply all the protein, calcium, etc. we need and it all come from fruit. Fruit is definitely the ideal food of man, I think. All the animals that eat vegetables like grass, or even leaves from trees, seem to be bent over on all fours. Animals that eat fruit mainly, like birds, can fly. I would like to live in some tropical place with all the variety of fruits I need to be a true fruitarian- it’s possible though hard.
25. Mike says:

    June 13, 2012 at 6:52 am

    Thanks Frederic. We need more rational, balanced information like this. It seems every one is in one camp or the other, dogmatically – even militantly – promoting “the truth”. Another thing my wife and I find frustrating is determining the level of significance of various nutritional info and dietary suggestions we read. For example: yes, cooking food destroys nutrients etc. but not eating meat is much more important than occasionally eating a baked potato. It’s easy to get hung up on the little stuff when you’re learning about nutrition.
26. sam says:

    June 13, 2012 at 8:46 am

    I second what Mike says it would be great to see someone giving approximate levels of significance to dietary choices so people can better prioritize/eliminate. I appreciate this is very difficult given the infinite variable factors such as; soil quality, growing conditions or the current state of an individuals health etc.

    Could anyone here answer my earlier questions: Is this article referring to cooked or raw tubers? Which types in particular?
27. Frederic Patenaude says:

    June 13, 2012 at 9:26 am

    Ancient humans ate cooked tubers. Most of these varieties are not commercially grown but many tribes in Africa still eat them.
28. Melissa says:

    June 13, 2012 at 10:13 am

    Re: tubers.

    a personal decision; but i’ve been warned that the good old baked potato is not good for arthritis, due to its ‘membership’ in the nightshade variety of vegetable. of course, there are also folks who claim that cooked yam is one of the best wild progesterone sources for menopausal women; i do agree with mike, though, the old (sweet) or new cooked potato, eaten for the feeling of fullness or be/cause you are at a restaurant sharing with meat-loving family/friends is better than eating meat. i haven’t completely given up my gluten free vegan soups, either. perhaps the eating of tubers by the ancients was/is related to geographical location: colder regions, etc. … but of course if you’re … moving to costa rica? …
29. Tom Billings says:

    June 16, 2012 at 11:14 am

    The word fruitarian dates to 1876 and before. Fruitarians existed in 1875. For details, check out the article:

    England, 1875: A Vegan, a Fruitarian, and Opposition to Animal Experimentation
    http://beyondveg.com/billings-t/special/history-1875.shtml

    Here’s a post I made to a vegetarian history list, re: earliest citation for the word fruitarian:

    Possibly 1876 if the Google Books date is correct [cover lists dates 1875-8]:

    http://books.google.com/books?pg=PA505&dq=fruitarian&ei=GqgaTbfhK5TAsAOL9uGNCw&c\
    t=result&id=rXkAAAAAMAAJ&output=text

    Quote:
    I have before me a pamphlet entitled “Man’s Best Food” which is said to be
    fruit, and nothing but fruit. The author says, on page 16, “‘ Give us nothing
    but apples, and we should not fall short of health, strength, nerve, or sinew,
    or lack one jot of the sustenance required by man!” 1 am excessively fond of
    fruit, and should be glad, if there is such a personage as a fruitarian reader
    of “ours,” to have a few hints from him as to the variety, mode of eating, and
    whether cooked or raw.

    It is possible that the pamphlet cited above, Man’s Best Food, is the actual
    origin of the term fruitarian. However the pamphlet is exceedingly rare. A 1914
    reprint (I assume it is a reprint, might be a copycat title) can be found in
    only 3 libraries, all of which are too far from Berkeley for me to visit [2
    copies in the UK, 1 in Chicago]:

    http://books.google.com/books?id=1z27HAAACAAJ

    http://www.worldcat.org/title/mans-best-food-an-enquiry-into-the-case-for-a-non-\
    flesh-diet/oclc/34971885

    Fred – please drop me an email – would love to have a photocopy/pdf of the Densmore book, and would make it available to historians interested in the history of vegetarianism.

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